The invention generally relates to joining tubular members.
When well fluid is produced from a subterranean formation, the fluid typically contains particulates, or “sand.” The production of sand from the well must be controlled in order to extend the life of the well. One technique to accomplish this involves routing the well fluid through a downhole filter formed from gravel that surrounds a sandscreen. More specifically, the sandscreen typically is a cylindrical mesh that is inserted into and is generally concentric with the borehole of the well where well fluid is produced. Gravel is packed in the annular area between the formation and the sandscreen, called the “annulus.” The well fluid being produced passes through the gravel, enters the sandscreen and is communicated uphole via tubing that is connected to the sandscreen.
The gravel that surrounds the sandscreen typically is introduced into the well via a gravel packing operation. In a conventional gravel packing operation, the gravel is communicated downhole via a slurry, which is a mixture of fluid and gravel. A gravel packing system in the well directs the slurry around the sandscreen so that when the fluid in the slurry disperses, gravel remains around the sandscreen.
In a conventional gravel packing operation, fluid may prematurely leave the slurry. When this occurs, a bridge forms in the slurry flow path, and this bridge forms a barrier that prevents slurry that is upstream of the bridge from being communicated downhole. Thus, the bridge disrupts and possibly prevents the application of gravel around some parts of the sandscreen.
For purposes of circumventing any possible bridges, a system for packing a well may include alternate path transport tubes, tubes that provide, as their names imply, alternative paths for communicating the slurry down into the well. In effect, the transport tubes serve as shunts in that should a bridge form, one of the transport tubes serves to bypass the bridge to permit slurry to be introduced into the well beyond the bridge.
The use of transport tubes may present various challenges. For example, a typical system for gravel packing a well may include a production tubing and one or more transport tubes that are located on the outside of the production tubing. The production tubing and transport tubes are assembled together on a section-by-section basis as these components are lowered downhole. Thus, a potential challenge in the use of transport tubes is that for each section of the system to be lowered downhole, both production tubing and transport tube sections must be joined together. This task is complicated because the transport tube sections (that are attached to the production tubing section) must be aligned with and sealed to adjacent transport tube sections.
Similar challenges may exist when assembling other types of downhole tubular members together, such as control line and production tubing sections.
Thus, there is a continuing need for an arrangement that addresses one or more of the problems set forth above as well as addresses one or more problems that are not set forth above.